His Vice

15

Max came through the door, startled by the sheer amount of plants scattered everywhere, they covered every flat surface. He had to move between the ones all over the floor. Some flowers, some vegetables, and fruit plants. He walked past the open backdoor, where Maxxy was playing in the grass with the dogs, and Harmony was near the fence on her knees, pulling weeds from the dirt.

"Harmony?" she looked up "What on earth has happened to the house? there are plants everywhere!" she sighed, rubbing her forehead

"There was a mixup. I asked for five tomato plants, they gave me fifty! I asked for 2 sets of daisies and they gave me 20! they basically added a zero onto everything!" she looked exhausted, getting up from the ground and dusting the grass pieces from her knees "Now, I have to use a sod cutter and get rid of the grass to fit them all"

"How about, you take them back?" he asked incredulously

"And make them feel rejected? I could never do that! and besides, how do you choose which ones to keep? way too difficult" she shook her head, pulling her brown wavy hair from its ponytail.

"It's less work to rip up the entire backyard than it is to choose which plants to keep and which ones to take back?" he asked

"Exactly! now you're getting it! I wouldn't want to make the plants cry" he just stared at her for a few moments, wondering if she was actually being serious. But, he wondered if he should even bother. She was obviously being serious. He ran a hand through his hair, walking back into the house. She sighed, dropping back down to her knees against the grass and digging through the dirt to remove the impurities.

"Lover's quarrel huh?" she looked up, slightly startled by the soft voice. She looked up at the old woman on the opposite side of the fence, getting to her feet.

"Oh goodness no, it just sounds like a fight because he doesn't know how to speak without yelling" she joked, pulling the gardening gloves off her hands.

"My husband and I have a wager on how many fights you'll have every week, we can hear them from our house"

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry!" the old woman waved it off, letting out a soft laugh

"Don't even worry about it, I'm winning, so the more fights the better" Harmony smiled, feeling her cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Besides, every couple has their ups and downs" If only she knew just how many, Harmony thought suddenly.

"I'm Charlotte" she held out her hand and Harmony took it softly. The old woman seemed to be peaceful and happy, she felt like she wanted to be like Charlotte. "My husband, Robert, and I have been living in this house for over 30 years" she referred to the small white cottage on her property.

"That's a very long time, you must have some stories to tell" Harmony responded

"Many indeed" the old woman responded "Every Sunday, some of us neighbors get together for a party sorts, would you be interested" Harmony's first instinct was to say yes, but she paused for a moment. They were in this house with the intention of being invisible, not drawing any attention to themselves until they knew they were safe. The less the neighbors knew about them, the safer it was for both parties. But, she wondered, would it make them stick out more if they didn't go?

"Sounds exciting, we'd love to attend"

"Great, I'll come by soon and let you know the other details" the old woman responded, making her smile "And you better dress up that little man" Charlotte pointed at Maxxy, who was shoving grass in his mouth with the dogs.

"Of course"

-

Jamie keeps talking about Devon, I can tell he still misses him a lot. But, little Spike looks so much like Devon, he keeps being reminded of his friend every time he sees the kid. Every time Janie comes over with Spike to play with Maxwell, they sit down together, with alcohol, of course, talking about Devon. I suspect that Jamie doesn't really talk to me about Devon because he thinks I won't understand, and he's probably right. Of course, I've experienced loss, but not the loss of a person I couldn't live without, maybe it's because I was never close with my parents and I had no friends, who knows. But, I think about what I would feel if Maxwell was gone, and I do get a tightening in my chest, a feeling I haven't experienced until now. I suspect it's similar to how Jamie feels about Devon, but the pain is worse for him because Devon is actually gone and Maxwell isn't.

I noticed that Jamie is actually focussing a bit more on Maxwell than he used to, playing with him, taking him places, buying him toys. It kind of warms my heart, but I suspect it's only to start Maxwell's training earlier than expected, to make Maxwell trust him, which was vital to the system that Maxwell was going to be forced into, unbenounced to him. Maxwell is almost six years old, it boggles my mind how quickly he grew up. I feel like it was just yesterday that he was this tiny helpless thing, crying for his mother and lifting his tiny little hands. Jamie's training didn't start until he was ten, and it kind of scares me, the thought of Jamie starting him at just six. The reason why Jamie's father waited till ten was to make sure that Jamie was emotionally mature enough for what lay ahead. Starting at six? I'm worried that's going to fuck Maxwell up in such a way that it can't be repaired.

After reading those words, Harmony shut the small laptop, almost feeling ridiculous that it had taken her this long to realize the ugly truth. She gazed at Maxxy, rolling across the carpet in his walker that Bean managed to assemble after Max tried and failed for three days straight. Maxxy was a Lucas, which meant that Maxxy would be next in line to take over Hell's Heaven from his father. She stared at the giggling child as Bean shook his favorite teddy bear in front of him, wondering if her son was really going to grow up being a killer. The thought had her stomach drop, it almost had her feeling physically sick.

Maxwell said himself, that the life these people lived was literally the earthen reincarnation of mythical hell. She didn't want that for Maxxy. How Max's mother had remembered Max as a baby, this small innocent thing untainted. And look how he was now, a ruthless killer covered in tattoos, constantly yells and swears and can't take no for an answer. She couldn't help but wonder, looking at Maxxy's smile, was life just repeating itself? would Maxxy be this precious thing one day, and a heartless killer the next? the thought made her harshly swallow with discomfort.